Invictus
by TuulikkiW
Summary: Andrea 'Andy' Parker is the newly appointed DADA professor at Hogwarts. She brings with her a dark past that will affect many people... On a side note: this is my story and therefore L Malfoy was not part of the Ministry attack.
1. Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Parker

CHAPTER ONE

-

Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Parker

Andy stepped out of the fireplace and brushed the soot from her pants.

"Welcome, Professor Parker!"

Andy looked up at the tall man with the long white hair and beard. He was wearing a purple cloak over pinstriped pants and a red jacket, and a pair of bright eyes twinkled behind the reading glasses.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, sir."

"I beg your forgiveness for this humble setting, but Flooing in to Hogwarts is not possible at the time being."

"That's all right sir," Andy said. The Hogsmeade train station was a lot grander than most Floo stations she had seen lately.

"Leave your luggage here and it will be brought to Hogwarts. I thought we might walk to the school, if you don't mind?"

"Of course not, sir."

The air was warm despite it being August, so Andy took off her long leather coat and put on her sunglasses instead. Dumbledore talked about the weather and the surroundings as they walked along the gravel road from the station to the school, but Andy only listened half-heartedly: she was preoccupied with thoughts. In a few days the school year of '96-'97 would begin with her as the new Defence Against The Dark Arts professor and she was nervous. Not only because of the fact that Hogwarts had had five different DADA teachers in as many years, but because it was Hogwarts, the best school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. She had a lot to live up to and wasn't sure that she was capable enough, having just finished her apprenticeship in DADA with no previous teaching experience, save for some co-teaching during training.

"Sir, if I may ask... Why did you hire me?"

Dumbledore hummed and looked out over the lake.

"You were the best candidate, Professor Parker."

"I find that hard to believe sir," Andy said and chuckled.

He stopped walking.

"Why is that?"

Andy stopped too and gave the headmaster a smile.

"Surely there must have been better applicants than me?"

"Actually there wasn't, Professor Parker." Dumbledore put his hand on Andy's back and they continued up the road to the gates.

"This is my first teaching position; I just got my degree – of course there must have been –"

"What I mean to say is that there were no other applicants, Professor Parker, but you should have a little more faith in yourself – may I call you Andrea?"

"Of course sir, but most people call me Andy."

"Andy it is then. So, what do you think?" Dumbledore threw out his arm towards the school and Andy looked up. Hogwarts. It was huge, but not menacing. The sun glittered in the many windows and the hills and mountains wrapped the whole scenery in a green blanket. It was beautiful.

Although there were no students in Hogwarts yet, the place was bustling with activity. Professors and house-elves were preparing for the new year, so Dumbledore whisked Andy upstairs to his office so they could talk without being disturbed. As they were having tea in front of the unlit fireplace, Dumbledore asked Andy if she had any questions, any at all. Andy took a sip of her tea and then said:

"Yes; Harry Potter. I suppose I will be teaching him too."

"Of course."

"What should I expect, sir?"

"How do you mean?"

"I heard about what happened at the Ministry this spring. It seems as if young Harry already is skilled enough in Defence."

Dumbledore sighed.

"In some ways, yes. In others, no. He is still a sixteen-year-old boy, no matter how well he did during the attack. Don't treat him any different from the others; he would not want it anyway."

"I will remember that, sir."

When they had finished the tea and the lovely lemon biscuits, Dumbledore took Andy to the DADA office, not far from the entrance to the headmaster's office.

"As you can see, it was emptied after our last teacher left and you are free to decorate it any way you feel appropriate. The DADA classroom is located one floor below – the staircase is behind that door, the current password to get inside from the classroom is Fudge Flies, the same as for the outer door – and your residence is up there." He pointed up the stairs. "Well then, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, juts snap your fingers and a house-elf will appear."

The small but airy flat contained of a sitting room with plush furniture, a bedroom with a large four-poster bed, a private study with shelves reaching to the ceiling, and a bathroom featuring a huge marble tub. She had definitely lived in worse places during her three years of apprenticeship! Her large trunk was standing by the foot of the bed, but all her clothes and books were already unpacked. She supposed that it was the work of the house-elves. Her parents had never had house-elves, but her paternal grandmother had several to keep the large mansion where she lived. Andy had always felt uncomfortable around the creatures, but had to admit that they were handy.

Since there was nothing left for her to do Andy decided to take a walk around the school. She was still in her travelling clothes; red and black chequered pants and a dark green Holyhead Harpies t-shirt with the arms cut off, showing a tattoo of a Swedish Short-Snout wrapped around her left arm, lazily snoring away. Several rings were dangling from her right ear and she was wearing three different necklaces, whereof one was a leather choker. She also sported a stud in her nose and one in her tongue, and her red hair was spiky as usual.

The stairs had moved around since Andy last walked them, but she finally made it down to the Great Hall. She had heard of the enchanted ceiling and wanted to see it for herself, and she was not disappointed. It was showing a perfect sunset and Andy almost tripped over a chair when she tried to take it all in.

"Careful Miss or ye'll break a leg!"

Andy looked down from the ceiling, but didn't have to lower her head too much – the man standing in front of her was big as a giant. She immediately assumed it was Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper and professor in Care of Magical Creatures.

"Professor Hagrid?"

"Hagrid, jus' Hagrid! An' yeh are...?"

"Andy Parker, the new Defence professor. Pleased to meet you." She extended her hand and the half-giant shook it so vehemently that she almost lost balance.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! So, how yer finding ev'rything then?"

"Good, so far. Wait until I've had a few classes and the answer might be different, though," she said with a laugh.

"It won' be tha' bad, jus' as long as yeh remember never to turn yer back a' them," Hagrid said and winked, and Andy threw her head back in a boisterous laughter.

"Constant vigilance, eh?"

"You know Mad-Eye Moody!"

"Who," Andy asked.

"Ne'er mind."

"Is there anywhere I can get something to eat," Andy asked, "I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Try the kitchens; there's always a couple o' elves up an' about."

There were maybe twenty house-elves puttering around in the kitchen and they were more than happy to help Andy with something to eat. They put together a basket for her and she returned upstairs to her rooms, only getting lost once. She ate her meal on the floor by the fireplace together with a nice bottle of elderflower wine, followed by a long hot bath together with the rest of the wine. As she lay there surrounded by big pink bubbles she felt the last of her worries disappear. This year would be great, wouldn't it? Well, if not, she could always go back to Sweden and start working for her uncle. Or simply throw herself from the North Tower, which probably would be better than working for Uncle Loke.


	2. A storm is brewing

CHAPTER TWO

-

A storm is brewing

Andy was late for breakfast as usual – she was no morning person and the whole bottle of wine the night before hadn't helped – and was the last to enter the Great Hall. Dumbledore was sitting in the middle of the High Table surrounded by his staff and when Andy sat down at the only remaining seat at the very end, he stood up and asked for silence:

"I'd like to introduce the newest member of our staff, Professor Andrea Parker. She will fill the Defence vacancy and I hope that you will all make her feel at home."

"You are very welcome, dear," the grey haired woman next to Andy said, introducing herself as nurse Poppy Pomfrey.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Poppy, dear. So, where did you go to school then?"

As they began to eat their breakfast, Andy told Poppy about Granfjället school of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Sweden, where she had also done her first year as a DADA apprentice. She had spent her second year in Seattle and her third year in Tanzania.

"And I've done some travelling in between, mostly in Europe but also East Africa," Andy said and finished her muesli.

"Really," Poppy said, and sounded genuinely interested.

"Yes. I believe that travelling broadens one's mind, something that is very important in teaching; especially in Defence."

Poppy chuckled:

"Try telling that to Professor Snape! He is our Potions Master and believes that a stern hand is more appropriate when it comes to teaching." The older witch nodded towards a sullen-looking man on Dumbledore's left side. He was all black, from his clothes to his lank hair, except for his pale complexion.

"A word to the wise: he's been after the DADA position for years and is most likely to treat you with disdain at the best. Don't let him bully you!"

Andy rolled her eyes:

"He doesn't scare me! I've been studying the Dark Arts for three years, each instructor more imposing than the first!"

Poppy patted her arm:

"Good for you, love, but you have never met anyone like Severus Snape, believe me."

As Andy was leaving the breakfast table, Dumbledore asked to speak to her for a moment:

"The students will arrive tonight, so all staff is required to be here at a quarter to eight."

He gave Andy's clothes – black plastic pants and a purple skin-tight blouse – a swift look.

"Don't worry, Headmaster; I will change until then."

He gave her a relieved smile.

"Oh, yes, here is your schedule for the year." Dumbledore took out a parchment from one of his robe pockets.

"And my curriculum?"

"I have nothing to add; it seems to be in order."

"Thank you sir. Now, I have some things to tend to, so if you'll excuse me..."

Andy took her leave and went up to the DADA classroom. Through the tall windows she could see dark clouds approaching between the mountains and deducted that there would be rain before lunchtime. She wondered how cold it would get inside the castle during winter; in Granfjället the fireplaces had been blazing six months a year just to keep the building liveable. She looked out the windows again. She'd better hurry if she was to make it to Hogsmeade and back before the rain came.

Andy had never been to the small village of Hogsmeade before, but she immediately felt like home on the narrow, steep streets between the quaint houses. Inside her goal, the sweetshop Honeydukes, the owner and her husband were preparing for the arrival of the students and the place oozed with the smell of sweet-making. She bought a stack of their finest chocolate and then went on her way again. Just before leaving the village she passed a pub and decided to go inside for a drink since the rain didn't seem to arrive any time soon anyway.

There weren't many people inside the pub, so the proprietor, Madam Rosmerta, gave Andy her full attention. As she was pouring Andy a pint, she asked her what she was doing in Hogsmeade.

"I'm the new Defence professor at Hogwarts," Andy said and took the beer glass.

"Ah, welcome," Rosmerta said and rested her elbows on the counter. "Well, I hope you've got better luck than the previous ones."

"Yeah, I've heard that the position is jinxed," Andy said and winked.

"But you don't believe it," Rosmerta said and smiled. "Good! Can I get you anything else?"

"This'll be fine, thanks." Andy took her beer and sat down by one of the small windows facing the street. She had finished half the beer when the door was opened and professors McGonagall and Sprout entered. McGonagall went up to the counter and Sprout asked Andy if they could join her.

"Certainly, Professor Sprout!"

The plump witch sat down and asked Andy to call her Pomona, and when McGonagall arrived with two glasses of sherry she told Andy that it was Minerva and nothing else.

"So," Andy said, "What else are there to do around here except for drinking in The Three Broomsticks?"

"Not much," Pomona admitted. "Saturdays there are live music both here and at the Hog's Head, but I wouldn't recommend that place: they tend to be a bit... rowdy there."

_Interesting_, Andy thought but didn't say anything. Instead she asked the two women to tell her more about the staff, which they were happy to do. She learnt more about the snarky Potions Master Snape; the Divination professors Firenze and Sibyll Trelawney; Binns, the ghost professor of History; and all the others.

Finally Sprout looked out the window, and said:

"It looks as if it'll rain any minute now."

"I'd better get back then," Andy said and finished her beer, "I don't want the chocolates to get wet."

"Oh, chocolate!" Sprout's eyes lit up.

"It's for the Defence class, sorry," Andy said and grinned.

Both Sprout and McGonagall stayed behind at the pub, so Andy walked the gravel road up to the school on her own and had just reached the stairs up to the large double-doors when the sky opened and it began to rain. By the time she reached her rooms a full storm was raging and the heavy rain thundered against the windows. As she was putting the chocolate away, she suddenly heard something else over the noise from the storm. Outside one of the sitting room windows a black thing was ferociously tapping the pane and Andy opened it. A very wet raven flopped inside and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

"Nevermore, finally!" Andy scooped up the bird and brought it to the bathroom where she towelled it off. Nevermore gave her a disgruntled look and flew out to the sitting room, where he perched himself on the mantelpiece.

"I told you that you could travel with me, so don't even think about it! You wanted to fly so it's you own fault," Andy said as she followed the raven to the sitting room.

The black bird didn't even meet her gaze.

"Suit yourself," Andy said and ruffled its feathers. "I'm glad you made it anyway."

After a hefty lunch to keep her until the Welcoming Feast, Andy sat down in her office and began to prepare for her first classes the next day. She knew that she could do it, but was still nervous. She wanted her students both to like and respect her, a difficult thing to achieve: you could end up either being taken advantage off or feared.

The storm was still raging when Andy walked down the stairs to the main hall, dressed in a black dress with a high collar and double silver buttons all the way down the chest and waist. Her hair was still spiky and she had not removed neither her nose- or tongue stud, nor her many earrings.

McGonagall and Hagrid were having a heated discussion in the main hall and Andy happened to walk right in to it.

"I'm tellin' yeh Minerva," Hagrid shouted and threw out his large arms, "It's too stormy! I can' take them kiddies in boats across the lake in such weathe'!"

"Tradition states –"

"They'll drown! No, we'd bette' prepare more carriages so we can take 'em the land way."

Finally Dumbledore interrupted them.

"Minerva, Rubeus, you are both right, but this time I will have to go with Minerva: the children need to come by sea. I promise you, Rubeus, that no one will be hurt."

Hagrid muttered and stomped off, closely followed by Dumbledore. Minerva sighed and shook her head.

"Poor Hagrid. I know that he worries about the students, but some traditions need to be followed." The older witch put her arm under Andy's and they walked inside the Great Hall together. Flitwick was lightening candles and sending them floating above the four House tables, but the clouds above were still sending menacing shadows over the hall.

"It _is_ a rather bleak evening," Andy said and her words were almost drowned by a thunder that shook the tall windows.

"Yes," McGonagall said, "But you are looking very natty!"

"Thank you," Andy said, and hoped that 'natty' meant something positive.

They walked up onto the stage where the High Table stood, and McGonagall placed Andy in an empty seat two chairs away from where Dumbledore would sit.

"As the Defence professor, you have your place here, next to Snape unfortunately. Don't let him..."

"...bully me, I know," Andy said. She hadn't seen anything of Snape except for during breakfast and lunch, and he had never uttered a word to her or even acknowledged her presence.

McGonagall left, as she had to welcome the students that would arrive any minute. Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, sat down on Andy's left and while they were chatting, Professor Snape turned up, scowling as usual, and sat down on her right. Andy said a cheerful "Good evening!" but he didn't answer, just looked at her with ill-disguised contempt.

Promptly at eight o'clock the double-doors to the Great Hall flung open and all the students except for the first-years entered. They sat down at their respective House tables and soon after the doors were opened again and McGonagall walked inside, followed by the yet un-Sorted new students.

Andy followed the Sorting with interest. They had something similar at Granfjället, which was modelled after Hogwarts in many ways, and she had always wondered how the school crest – or in Hogwarts' case, the Hat – always managed to divide the new students in equal quarters, five boys and five girls, into each House.

When the last scared little Ravenclaw had been seated, Dumbledore invited all to eat. As the plates filled with food, Andy scanned the Gryffindor table and finally found someone she thought had to be Harry Potter, sitting between a red-haired boy and a blond podgy boy. She couldn't see the scar from this distance, but she recognized his spectacles and unruly black hair from newspaper photos.

When everyone had finished the sumptuous dinner, Dumbledore stood up and began to talk:

"As we begin a new year at Hogwarts, I regret to inform you all that times are dire. Lord Voldemort –" there was a collective gasp "– has returned and together with the demise of the Dementors this makes things even more dangerous. The Forbidden Forest is as always forbidden for all students, but now more than ever before. Hogsmeade weekends will be allowed to those of age as usual, but not in groups of less than five. You will be safe here at Hogwarts so there is really no reason to despair." Dumbledore smiled towards his students as if to comfort them. "Now I would like to end this evening with more uplifting news: we have a new Defence Against The Dark Arts' teacher, Professor Parker, whom I am confident will be an asset to Hogwarts." Andy almost blushed at the praise, but nodded a greeting towards the students all the same.

While the first-years were lead to their dorms, the older ones stayed behind chatting and Andy could tell that among the many happy reunions there were also hushed voices filled with worry. Lord Voldemort and Dementors prowling about; she'd be scared too if she was a kid. Well, to tell the truth she was a bit scared. She knew very well what Death Eaters were capable of.

"Another whiskey, Andy?"

"No thanks, I've got class first thing in the morning."

"Me too," McGonagall said and poured herself another.

They were sitting in the dark staff room where the only light came from the fireplace, both with a glass of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey in their hands. The rain was still pounding against the windows.

"Did he tell the truth? Are we safe here?"

McGonagall took a sip before answering.

"Yes. Nothing can enter Hogwarts or its grounds without permission."

"But?"

McGonagall gave Andy a crocked smile.

"Hogsmeade is a whole other issue, as is the Forbidden Forest. I'd prefer that we cancelled all Hogsmeade weekends, but Albus is determined not to let his students suffer more. He thinks that they need something to keep their minds off what's really going on."

"I agree with him," Andy said. "Life should be as normal as possible. I just wish..."

"What?"  
"That there was something more to be done. Not all of them are as skilled in practical defence as Harry Potter, and if they were attacked..."

McGonagall nodded as she looked into the fire.

"I think you're right. Well, we'd better go to bed now. Long day tomorrow."

Andy was tossing and turning in bed. She was dreaming about the cold dark room again and the pleading voices, the whimpering voices, the crying voices, the blood, oh gods, so much blood, and finally she woke up screaming, as on so many nights before.


	3. First day of school

CHAPTER THREE

-

First day of school

The dream was forgotten by the time Andy woke up again and dragged herself out to the bathroom. For the second day in a row she wished that she hadn't been drinking the night before and silently wondered if it was a bad sign. She very rarely drank at all and now she had been drinking every day since she came to Hogwarts. Well, she wouldn't touch a drop ever again. Not until the weekend at least.

Dressed in the same black dress and robe from the Welcoming Feast, Andy walked down to the Great Hall where most students already were seated for breakfast under a ceiling that this morning was foggy, but at least the rain had stopped. She sat down just as the owls showed up with the mail. A large white owl swooped down in front of her bowl of yoghurt and she immediately recognized it as her grandmother's. She took the letter from its claws and the large bird took off again, but instead of reading it, Andy put the parchment in her robe pocket for later – starting the day with a letter from her grandmother was about as fun as a root canal.

"So, are you ready for the animals," Professor Sinistra said and folded together the newspaper she had been reading.

"Well, I was, until that comment," Andy said and sighed.

"Do as Snape does and picture them as puny bugs, that works; right, Severus?"

The sullen man on Andy's right side smirked.

"It has so far."

Andy grinned.

"It's either that or a quick shot of Ogden's, I suppose," she said and winked at Sinistra who howled with laughter. Snape snorted into his teacup.

Andy took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror above the stone sink in her office.

"I'm not afraid, I can fly," she mumbled and took another deep breath. "They're only children and if they misbehave you can always hex them from here to Sunday. You have dealt with worse. Right. Right."

She wiped her sweaty hands on the front of her dress and went to open the classroom door.

The door closed after the last first-year Ravenclaw and Andy slumped down in her chair, burying her face in her hands. One class down, ten thousand to go. There was a knock on the door and she sat up straight, trying to compose herself as the door opened. It was Dumbledore.

"I am not disturbing, I hope?"

"No sir, I've just finished the class."

"So how did it go then?"

"Oh, good," Andy said and thought, _'considering'_. "What can I do for you sir?"

"In your office perhaps?"

They went upstairs and Andy put on a kettle.

"As you know, last year's Defence class was a disaster," Dumbledore began and Andy smiled to herself. Yes, she had heard about Umbridge and the debacle the woman had created.

"Now, I would like to ask you a favour."

"Certainly, Headmaster."

"As I told you, I think that your curriculum is excellent, but it does not cover an area that has become very important lately, with Voldemort's return and the Dementors on the loose: duelling. Yes, Minerva told me about your conversation last night. Jinxes and hexes only go a short way without the proper knowledge of how to use them in a more serious situation and I want my students to be able to defend themselves, come what may."

"I agree."

"A few years ago we had a duelling class here at Hogwarts that unfortunately ended in a rather hasty way." Dumbledore told her about Lockhart. "However, I would like to ask you if you could start it up again."

"A duelling class?" Andy lent forward in her chair. "I'd love it! Duelling was one of my favourite subjects at Granfjället and I was at the top of my class; got an A in my N.E.W.T.s"

"I know; that is why I asked you." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his glasses. "You will need a co-teacher and I would suggest that you talk to Professor Snape. He is one of the most skilled duellers we have; save for Flitwick whom I think unfortunately might be too busy this year to take on a Duelling class."

"Professor Snape? Oh, I don't know... He doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Oh, it's not you, dear; our Potions Master doesn't like anyone in the DADA position."

"That does not help, sir."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"He barks worse than he bites. I suggest that you talk to him as soon as possible to set something up; he should be in his office right now. The Great Hall will be empty Wednesday evenings between eight and nine for your convenience." Dumbledore got up, thanked for the tea, and left.

Andy knocked on the door and when Snape barked out an "Enter!" she did so. He looked genuinely surprised to see her but didn't get up from his desk.

"Professor Parker?"

"Professor Snape." Andy walked up to the desk. "May I sit down?"

He made a curt nod. Andy sat down and folded her hands in her knees. She looked straight into the Potion Master's dark eyes and began talking:

"The Headmaster came to talk to me this morning. He told me that there used to be a duelling class at Hogwarts some years back and asked me to start a new one –"

"Did he tell you how it ended," Snape interrupted with a sneer.

"Yes he did, but with all due respect, Professor Snape, I am not Gilderoy Lockhart."

Snape's face didn't for a second reveal what he was thinking.

"And this regards me in what way," he muttered, fully aware of the answer.

"I would like to ask you if you would be my co-teacher."

"I see."

"I could ask Flitwick..."

"That won't be necessary," Snape said, a bit too quickly, "I will do it."

"Thank you! Will Wednesdays at eight be alright with you?"

"Fine," he said. "Leave now, I have essays to correct."

"Very well. Should we meet after dinner to discuss the curriculum? My office?" Andy got up from the chair.

"Seven o'clock would be better."

"See you there then."

She almost sighed out of relief when she left Snape's office. No, the man did not like her!

After a trying class with the third-years Andy had some free hours before it was time for lunch where she was very happy to sit down among grown-ups. Sinistra saw Andy's harrowed face and put her hand on Andy's arm.

"Was it that bad?"

Andy gave her a faint smile:

"It was okay, but Merlin's balls, some students are so daft I feel sorry for them..."

"Welcome to my world," Snape muttered and sat down, "Dunderheads not fit to shovel niffler manure, that's what most of them are."

Snape was in a very foul mood and was not looking forward to the Potions with Potter he would have at the end of the day. He snapped at the two second-year Hufflepuffs that weren't fast enough out of the classroom and they scuttled away. _'Idiot children,'_ he thought and grimaced as he took the stairs up to the main hall in a few long steps, his black robes billowing behind him. Sinistra and Andy were discussing students and when Andy said something about daft students he replied with a snide remark. To his surprise she looked at him and said very calmly that she thought that he was being unfair. He was so chocked that he couldn't even reply and ate his lunch in silence. No one ever talked back to him; except for students with a death wish! It wasn't until he was back in his office that he thought of all the things he should have said to shut her up. He vowed to let that little pierced redheaded freak have a piece of his mind!

He barely looked at her when they sat down for dinner and when she asked if the meeting still was on at seven, he only confirmed it with a short nod. No one pissed off Severus Machiavelli Snape without regretting it!

Andy didn't even realize that Snape wasn't talking to her at dinner: she had a terrible headache after the last class for the day, a double with third-year Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, and had tried to cure it with a short lie-down before dinner, but it wasn't helping. She could barely finish her meal and decided to go back to her rooms and have another nap before the meeting with Snape. She left with jaws tightly clenched to keep the migraine at bay.

Andy threw her robe on the sofa, and something fluttered down on the floor. She picked it up and recognized the letter from her grandmother. Oh yes, she had forgotten all about it with the headache and all. _'Well, a perfect ending to a perfect day,' _she thought and sat down in one of the plush chairs to read it. Two minutes later she threw the crumpled letter into the fire and buried her face in her hands.

"For fuck's sake, gran, I am not going to give up teaching for the family business," she groaned.

Nevermore flew down from the chandelier where he had been sitting and landed on Andy's shoulder, softly nibbling her ear. She stroke his shiny black feathers and slowly shook her head.

"Won't I ever be free from them?"

"Nevermore."

Andy snorted:

"I'm afraid I agree."

She got up from the chair, still with Nevermore on her shoulder, and went to her study where she took out a small vial from one of the desk drawers.

"Shite, the last one," she mumbled and took the flask with her to the bathroom where she emptied it in a glass of water and drank it, grimacing at the taste. She barely had the time to make a mental note to ask Snape if she could use his Potions classroom for some potion-making of her own, before she slumped down on the bed; sleeping even before her head touched the pillow.

Snape knocked on the door to the DADA office – what should have been _his_ office – one more time, wondering where the hell Andy was. Finally the door was opened and a very dishevelled Andy munching on a piece of chocolate asked him to enter. She yawned big as she walked over to a bookshelf and took out a bottle of Ogden's from behind some books, pouring herself a large one and raising her eyebrows at Snape.

"Yes please."

She poured him one too and asked him to sit down in of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

"So, since you were part of the old Duelling class, do you have any ideas," Andy asked and hid another yawn behind her hand.

Snape just stared at her. All the nasty remarks he had conjured during the afternoon had disappeared at the sight of the young woman, who looked worse than a hag at the moment.

"I...," he began, "I... Yes. A good idea would be to start with defensive hexes and then moving up to attacking."

"Right," Andy said. The nap, the chocolate and the whiskey were working their magic and she was slowly beginning to come back to life.

"Which years? The first years seem a bit too young, I think..."

"I'd rather not admit fifth-years and younger," Snape said but Andy shook her head:

"No, I think that the fifth-years should be included. I'd like to take all, actually, but I can at least agree to draw the limit at fifth-years and up. I don't think that the younger students have the necessary wand-skills."

Snape nodded and looked at the amber liquid in his glass. It was a long time since he had tasted such a good Ogden's. Andy followed his gaze and knew what he was thinking.

"1921," she said, "It's an Ogden's Old from 1921. A very good year."

"Good? It was the best!" Snape eyed Andy with suspicion.

"It also costs a rather fine amount of galleons," he said, "I didn't know that newly-appointed Defence professors made that kind of money."

"They don't," Andy said and smiled. "It was a graduation gift from my uncle."

"He has good taste."

"Sometimes." Andy licked the last of the chocolate of her fingers, not noticing how Snape's eyes suddenly seemed to bulge.

"So, Wednesdays at eight then, starting from next week," she said. "What about meeting in the Great Hall ten minutes before to set everything up?"

"Yes, fine," Snape said and swept the rest of the whiskey in one gulp before getting up. "I will tell Filch to put up a notice."

"Good, and I'll tell Dumbledore what we have agreed on." Andy stood up too, still with the whiskey tumbler in her hand. "Oh, and if you ever feel like another Ogden's, you only have to knock."

Snape stopped for a second, but didn't turn around.

"I will remember that," he said over his shoulder without looking at her, and then left.

Andy finished off her whiskey and put back the bottle in the bookshelf. It took her a few minutes to remember that she had forgotten to ask Snape if she could use his classroom. Well, she could ask him at breakfast. Now she had to prepare the classes for the next day.


	4. Recollections

CHAPTER FOUR

-

Recollections

It had been a fabulous sunrise – Andy had seen it from the Astronomy Tower doing Tai Chi – and she felt invigorated for the first time since she came to Hogwarts. She said a cheerful "good morning" to Snape when she sat down for breakfast and wasn't surprised when he didn't answer.

"Oh, I meant to ask you last night... Could I use your classroom for some potion making? I will of course use my own ingredients."

Snape had a thousand reasons to turn her down, everyone with a contemptuous remark attached, but he was also very curious of what she sort of potion she would conjure.

"I cannot let you use my classroom, Professor Parker," he said, "but my private office is at your disposal."

"Well, thank you! I won't get a hold of everything I need until Friday, so could I come then? I have a couple of hours before dinner."

"I will be there, Professor Parker."

Andy had been looking forward to the first class with Harry Potter, which also was the last for the day, since she had been appointed the DADA position. She had been sixteen the year that he had gone to Hogwarts and her History professor had told them all about The Boy Who Lived. She had also heard about what had happened during the attack at the Ministry in London earlier that year, when Harry together with five friends had fought back a number of Death Eaters as well as Lord Voldemort, and she admired the boy immensely. What she hadn't anticipated was that he wouldn't be the only student in her advanced DADA and that one of the other students would be Draco Malfoy. She recognized him immediately of course; he was a young copy of his father. Andy gripped the desk so hard that her knuckles whitened as she read his name of the roll, but managed to keep her voice steady, continuing to the next on the list.

"So," she began and started pacing the room, "you are here because you want a N.E.W.T. in Defence Against the Dark Arts. My aim is to help you all towards that goal and I am confident that you will – if you work with me." She let her gaze glide over both Harry and Draco without stopping at either.

"Now, Defence leading up to the N.E.W.T.s is difficult, I am not going to lie about it. It will require a lot from you, both in class but also outside of it. There will be more essays than before and I will have a couple of unprepared tests. If you think that it will be hard, it is nothing compared to what you will face in two years at the finals."

The students began to shift in their seats.

"I have also asked your respective Heads of Houses for the passwords to your dorms and will attack you in your sleep to see if you can work under pressure."

She mused at the dropped jaws, before she winked and said:

"Just kidding," and the room erupted in laughter.

As her students where copying from the blackboard, Andy sat behind her desk and looked out over them. Draco Malfoy, so much like his father. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Ronald Weasley with the telltale red hair of all the Weasleys; she had had his sister the day before. Neville Longbottom of the Longbottom Family, a diamond in the rough. Hermione Granger, the brightest witch in generations despite being a Mudblood. Draco Malfoy. _'Merlin, he looks so much like his father,'_ she thought and looked out of one of the windows instead.

"Professor Parker?"

"Hm?" Andy looked up.

"We're done copying the notes, Professor." The look Hermione gave her was a bit worried.

"Well, read them until next time and write a foot on the difference between the Cruciatus Curse and Transmogrifian Torture. Oh yes, we are starting a Duelling class next Wednesday at eight; I don't know if Filch has put up the notice yet. It is not compulsory, but it might be a help for your N.E.W.T.s, not to mention the obvious use of course."

"Yes, Professor Parker," they all said and packed together their books.

"Master Malfoy, a word with you, please."

The other students left, leaving Draco standing by his desk with books in his arms. Andy was still sitting behind her desk.

"How is your father?"

Draco flinched.

"He was well the last time I saw him."

"Thank you, Master Malfoy. You may leave."

Andy rubbed her eyes as the door closed behind Draco. She shouldn't have questioned the boy, but there was no other way for her to find out. She slammed a fist on the desk.

Madam Pomfrey immediately picked up on Andy's bad mood when they met in the door to the Great Hall.

"Bad day?"

Andy shook her head:

"No, I'm just a bit tired."

"I heard that you're borrowing Severus' private office on Friday," Pomfrey said as they entered the hall, "I don't think he has ever let anyone use it before since he started working here."

"Really," Andy said, not quite listening. She could feel the first familiar throbs of another migraine coming up and began to panic: second time in two days _and_ there was no potion left.

"Listen, Poppy, I think I'll skip dinner tonight, okay? I'm too tired anyway." Andy stopped walking and Pomfrey turned around to look at her.

"Should I send up a house-elf with a tray?"

"No! No, that won't be necessary."

Andy almost ran out of there, pressing balled-up fists against her temples to keep the flashing lights away.

She locked the door behind her and cast an Imperturbable Charm around her rooms to keep any sounds inside.

"Nevermore, are you here," she croaked and stumbled up to her bedroom.

The raven came flying and landed on the pillow as Andy dragged herself up on the bed, crouching up in foetal position.

"It's happening and I don't have any potion left so listen carefully: if anyone tries to get in, you have to stop them, you hear? _Jesus fuck!_" Andy threw herself backwards as a sharp pain cut trough her brain like a knife blade. Nevermore looked at her with his beady eyes and began to recite the incantations.

Andy opened her eyes and lay still for a moment, looking up at the canopy ceiling. It was dark. She moved her head to the side. It was dark outside the window too.

"Nevermore?"

The bird crowed softly from the headboard.

"Thank you."

She closed her eyes again.

"I'm doing a new batch as soon as possible. It won't happen again."

"Nevermore."


	5. What do you want of me?

CHAPTER FIVE

-

What do you want of me?

The rest of the week was uneventful. Friday morning the last of the herbs arrived in the mail and after her last lesson that day, a double with the sixth-years, Andy went downstairs to Snape's office to make her potion. He let her in with barely a word and then sat down to correct essays, leaving Andy to her own devices, but after a while his curiosity took over and he walked over to the table. She was slicing bladderwack while five ounces of whole cinquefoil was boiling together with chopped hydrangea on a low flame.

"Could you handle me the snake fangs, please," Andy said and Snape did so without a word. She crushed five of them and added to the brew, making it sizzle and turn bright blue. After stirring it 145 times anticlockwise she added the bladderwack. Finally Snape couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"I have never seen snake fangs and bladderwack combined this way. What are you making?"

"A sleeping and calming draught," Andy said and slowly stirred the potion.

"Madam Pomfrey has those in her stores; why would you make one yourself?"

"Because that's not all it does." Her tone of voice told Snape that she did not wish to discuss it further.

"I take it that you have been doing this for some time," Snape said and indicated the cauldron; "Potion-making, I mean."

"Yes," Andy said, more than happy to change the subject. "I graduated top of my class in Potions actually. If I hadn't gotten the opportunity to do a DADA apprenticeship I most likely would have been a Potions professor instead."

Snape was flabbergasted. He rarely met people with such knowledge and apparent interest in potions other than during the few Potion seminars and gatherings he had attended, and to hear such a thing from someone he had been set on to loathe was rather disturbing: it made it hard to despise her.

"There," Andy said and turned down the flame under the cauldron a bit. "Now it has to simmer for ten minutes." She wiped her hands on her dark grey pants, leaving faint smudges of green that she didn't even notice. '_Sloppy_,' Snape thought, but didn't say anything.

When she began to walk around his office looking at his books and potions paraphernalia he followed her with an interested look. She was so... natural. Of course she knew about his reputation among the other teachers – how could she not – but she didn't seem to care. He had been treating her just as bad as he had treated most other DADA professors that he felt had robbed him of his desired goal, _but she just didn't seem to care_. What was wrong with the girl?

"I see that you've got a large collection of Greek potion books," Andy said and pulled out a book from the shelf. Snape frowned. No one touched his books without permission! Andy either didn't notice or didn't care because she flipped through it before putting it back.

"So," she said, "what else do you do?" She looked up at Snape who didn't understand what she meant.

"Except for teaching, I mean. These are just potions books; don't you read anything else? Do you have any hobbies?"

Snape quickly shut his mouth when he realized that he was gaping at her.

"Hobbies?"

"Yes, things you do for fun, to keep your mind off work?"

"Fun?"

"Ah, yes, there lies the rub," Andy said and gave up a small chuckle. "Professor Snape doesn't do things 'for fun'."

Snape didn't believe his ears.

"I let you use my private office," he hissed, "and you thank me by insulting me! I've never..."

"Insulting? Oh no, I am not insulting you, at least not intentionally. I am merely stating a fact. Or am I wrong?"

Snape curled his lips in a sneer:

"Were you a Gryffindor or whatever they call it at Granfjället, Professor Parker? Impertinence seems to be a very Gryffindor kind of trait."

Andy gave him a long look.

"No, I was not a Lynx," she finally said and then turned around, away from him: "I believe the potion is ready for sifting now."

After she had cooled the potion with a charm, Andy poured it into twenty small crystal vials and carefully placed them in a wooden box that had been made especially for the vials. Snape had abandoned her for his writing desk and when she left he didn't even look up at her.

At dinner the Great Hall was filled with a buzz that implied that the students were looking forward to their first weekend together since before summer break. Andy made a mental note to scout the corridors for unfortunate drunks before going to bed. She remembered very well what it was like to be a kid and didn't want anyone to be punished for a little youthful mischief.

"What are you smiling at," Sinistra said and looked at Andy, "You look like a gnome that just ate the cat."

Andy told her.

"Good," Sinistra said, "I agree with you. Just don't let McGonagall, Snape or Filch hear you talk like that. They get off on detentions, I think."

Andy threw her head backwards and laughed, just as Snape sat down next to her. He was still in a mood and Andy shook her head at the man.

"For Merlin's sake Snape, are you still upset because what I said? Look, I just think that you ought to..."

"I assure you, Professor Parker, that I do not carry grudges –" Sinistra snorted into her goblet and he gave her a quick nasty look "–and that I have larger nuisances than listening to what an insolent little..." He didn't finish the sentence.

"Yes, Professor Snape, what were you about to say? Insolent little what? Bitch?" Andy said in a dangerously smooth voice. He turned towards her and they locked eyes. The whole staff table went quiet.

"Oo, this is going to be bad," Sprout whispered and rubbed her hands together.

"Maybe we should warn the children and get them out of here," Flitwick said and he wasn't joking.

"Well, Professor Snape?"

He lent forward an inch and hissed something that no one else heard besides Andy. She stared at him for a couple of seconds and then she began to laugh so hard that all the students turned to look at her. Snape turned towards his meal again.

"You win, Professor," she chuckled and dried her eyes, "That was priceless."

Snape didn't say anything but McGonagall later swore that she had seen a fraction of smile on his lips.

At ten thirty Andy put on her robe and left her rooms. She encountered her first snogging couple outside the library and told them to find a better place before someone not so friendly caught them. She got a thankful look from both before they scurried away into the dark.

The school was a whole other place during nighttime. Silvery ghost silently drifted past her and cats out on the prowl came up to her demanding to be scratched behind the ears.

She made her way down the stairs and all the way down to the dungeons before she bumped into the next couple engaged in swapping body fluids.

"Master Malfoy, Miss Parkinson. I should point out that you are dangerously close to Professor Snape's office and would suggest that you move along."

"Yes, Professor Parker, " Pansy mumbled and scuttled away. Draco stayed behind.

"Yes Malfoy?"

The boy looked at her with his ice grey eyes. Andy could see his father through them and had to bury her nails into the palms of her hands in order not to scream.

"Nothing, Professor Parker." He turned and left.

Andy swore under her breath. Damn all the Malfoy men to hell!

Snape was sitting in his favourite reading chair in front of the fireplace reading a book when there was a knock on his office door. He grunted but got up anyway. Probably another first-year who had had too much to drink and was feeling homesick. He managed to not look surprised when it was Andy.

"May I come in?"

He opened the door a fraction more and let her in, first making sure that no one was out in the corridor.

Andy walked straight through his office and into his living room. Snape followed her.

"What can I do for you, Professor Parker?"

"You can get me two glasses and pull up another chair," Andy said and took out a bottle of Ogden's from her robe.

Snape didn't know what to make of Andrea Parker. With the name-calling and insults he threw her way she should hate him, and still her she was, sitting in front of his fireplace sharing a bottle of whiskey with him.

"You play chess," Andy said nodding towards the game that was set out on a small table between the chairs.

"Occasionally," Snape said.

"See, you do have hobbies." Andy begun to chuckle and soon she was shaking with laughter.

"Gods, I can't stop thinking about what you said at dinner! Who would've thought that Severus Snape had a sense of humour? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Snape put down his tumbler.

"What is it that you want, Professor Parker?"

"What do you mean," Andy said, really not knowing what he was talking about.

"Why are you here?"

"To have a drink? I don't like drinking on my own."

He did not looked convinced and Andy shrugged:

"I don't know why. I just like it down here I guess. Do you mind?"

Snape chose his words carefully before answering.

"No."

It was well after midnight before Andy left Snape's quarters. They hadn't talked much in the end but the silence had been comfortable and not all awkward. It felt as if they had known each other for years.

Andy never saw the dark figure hiding in the shadows outside the potions master's rooms, his ice grey eyes following her until she disappeared up the stairs.


End file.
